# Endangered Wildlife; Recovery Permit Applications
**AGENCY:**
Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice of receipt of permit applications; request for comments.
**SUMMARY:**
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, invite the public to comment on the following applications for a permit to conduct activities intended to recover and enhance endangered species survival. With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits certain activities that may impact endangered species, unless a Federal permit allows such activity. The ESA also requires that we invite public comment before issuing these permits.
**DATES:**
To ensure consideration, please submit your written comments by February 9, 2024.
**ADDRESSES:**
*Document availability:* Request documents from the contact in the *FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT* section.
*Comment submission:* Submit comments by email to *[email protected].* Please specify the permit application you are interested in by number ( *e.g.,* Permit Record No. PER1234567).
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Marty Tuegel, Supervisor, Environmental Review Division, by phone at 505-248-6651, or via email at *[email protected].* Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
**Background**
With some exceptions, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ), prohibits activities that constitute take of listed species unless a Federal permit is issued that allows such activity. The ESA's definition of “take” includes hunting, shooting, harming, wounding, or killing, and also such activities as pursuing, harassing, trapping, capturing, or collecting.
The ESA and our implementing regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at title 50, part 17, provide for issuing such permits and require that we invite public comment before issuing permits for activities involving listed species.
A recovery permit we issue under the ESA, section 10(a)(1)(A), authorizes the permittee to conduct activities with endangered or threatened species for scientific purposes that promote recovery or enhance the species' propagation or survival. These activities often include such prohibited actions as capture and collection. Our regulations implementing section 10(a)(1)(A) for these permits are found at 50 CFR 17.22 for endangered wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.32 for threatened wildlife species, 50 CFR 17.62 for endangered plant species, and 50 CFR 17.72 for threatened plant species.
**Permit Applications Available for Review and Comment**
Documents and other information submitted with these applications are available for review by any party who submits a request as specified in *ADDRESSES* . Our release of documents is subject to Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) requirements.
Proposed activities in the following permit requests are for the recovery and enhancement of propagation or survival of the species in the wild. We invite local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the public to submit written data, views, or arguments with respect to these applications. The comments and recommendations that will be most useful and likely to influence agency decisions are those supported by quantitative information or studies. Please refer to the permit record number when submitting comments.
| Permit record No. | Applicant | Species | Location | Activity | Type of take | Permit action |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PER2817285 | Boone, Aaron; San Antonio, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
), lesser prairie-chicken (
), red-cockaded woodpecker (
) | New Mexico, Texas | Presence/absence surveys, lek surveys | Harass, harm | Renew/Amend. |
| PER2182165 | Ubias, Ryan; Dallas, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER4919195 | Veni, George; Carlsbad, New Mexico | Coffin Cave mold beetle (
), Comal Springs riffle beetle (
), Helotes mold beetle (
), no common name (
), no common name (
), Tooth Cave ground beetle (
), Comal Springs dryopid beetle (
), Kretschmarr Cave mold beetle (
), Texas hornshell (
), diminutive amphipod (
), Peck's Cave amphipod (
), Leon Springs pupfish (
), Comanche Springs pupfish (
), fountain darter (
), Pecos gambusia (
), Cokendolpher Cave harvestman (
), Bee Creek Cave harvestman (
), Bone Cave harvestman (
), Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion (
), Texas blind salamander (
), Barton Springs salamander (
), Austin blind salamander (
), Pecos assiminea snail (
), Noel's amphipod (
), Koster's springsnail (
), diamond tryonia (
), Roswell springsnail (
), phantom springsnail (
), phantom tryonia (
), Gonzales tryonia (
), Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver (
), Madla Cave meshweaver (
), Robber Baron Cave meshweaver (
), Government Canyon Bat Cave spider (
), Tooth Cave spider (
) | New Mexico, Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm, collect | New. |
| PER4843810 | Gladstone, Nicholas; Austin, Texas | Golden-cheeked warbler (
) | Texas | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Amend. |
| PER5007100 | University of Arizona. Pasch Lab; Tucson, Arizona | Mount Graham red squirrel (
) | Arizona | Capture, handle, tag, monitor, bio-sample | Harass, harm, capture | Renew/Amend. |
| PER3115044 | Transcon Environmental, Inc.; Mesa, Arizona | Southwestern willow flycatcher (
) | Arizona, California, Colorado New Mexico, Texas, Utah | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | Renew/Amend. |
| PER4948896 | Kanye, Zakhiah; Tijeras, New Mexico | Jemez Mountains salamander (
) | New Mexico | Presence/absence surveys | Harass, harm | New. |
| PER5034327 | New Mexico Department of Game & Fish; Santa Fe, New Mexico | Lesser prairie-chicken (
) | New Mexico | Presence/absence surveys, lek surveys | Harass, harm | Amend. |
| PER5161122 | Olsson; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Fat pocketbook (
), northern long-eared bat (
), Indiana bat (
), gray bat (
), Ozark big-eared bat (
) | Arkansas | Presence/absence surveys, capture, translocate, handle, tag | Harass, harm, capture | Amend. |
| PER5200853 | Regan Smith Energy Solutions, Inc.; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Lesser prairie-chicken (
), red-cockaded woodpecker (
) | Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia | Presence/absence surveys, lek surveys | Harass, harm | Renew/Amend. |
| PER5200854 | Blanton & Associates, Inc.; Austin, Texas | Gulf Coast jaguarundi (
), ocelot (
), Attwater's greater prairie-chicken (
), golden-cheeked warbler (
), lesser prairie-chicken (
), northern aplomado falcon (
), red-cockaded woodpecker (
), southwestern willow flycatcher (
), whooping crane (
), Houston toad (
), Barton Springs salamander (
), Austin blind salamander (
), Texas blind salamander (
), Comal Springs riffle beetle (
), Comal Springs dryopid beetle (
), Peck's Cave amphipod (
), diamond tryonia (
), Gonzales tryonia (
), phantom tryonia (
), phantom springsnail (
), Pecos amphipod (
), Pecos assiminea snail (
), diminutive amphipod (
), no common name (
), no common name (
), Helotes mold beetle (
), Cokendolpher Cave harvestman (
), Robber Baron Cave meshweaver (
), Madla Cave meshweaver (
), Government Canyon Bat Cave meshweaver (
), Government Canyon Bat Cave spider (
), Tooth Cave spider (
), Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion (
), Bee Creek Cave harvestman (
), Kretschmarr Cave mold beetle (
), Tooth Cave ground beetle (
), Bone Cave harvestman (
), Coffin Cave mold beetle (
) | Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas | Presence/absence surveys, lek surveys, capture, anesthetize, bio-sample, tag, salvage | Harass, harm, capture | Renew/Amend. |
| PER5201354 | Aransas National Wildlife Refuge; Austwell, Texas | Whooping crane (
) | Alabama, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin | Capture, bio-sample, propagation, collect eggs, transport, salvage, educational display, provide health care, reintroduction, rehabilitation, shipment of dead specimens and their parts | Harass, harm, capture | Renew/Amend. |
**Public Availability of Comments**
All comments we receive become part of the public record associated with this action. Requests for copies of comments will be handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Service and Department of the Interior policies and procedures. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their entirety.
**Authority**
We provide this notice under section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 *et seq.* ).
Jeffrey Fleming,
Acting Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.